Falling together
by LovelyPrecedent
Summary: Cloud and Tifa don't make it out of the Northern Crater.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Square Enix or any of their characters._

"I think I'm beginning to understand. An answer from the Planet... the Promised Land... I think I can meet her... there."

Tifa gazed into his Cloud's face with a morose looking smile, then leaned into his chest.

"Yeah, let's go meet her," she mumbled.

She looked up again and her face was tear stricken.

"Tifa?"

"This is it isn't it Cloud? We are going to die."

Her broken voice was hard to discern over the rumbling Lifestream below and the crater shattering around them, but Cloud wouldn't let his focus slip from the last moments with the woman hugging his chest.

"After all we did, it comes to this."

"Tifa I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for bringing you here to die like this!"

His voice was full of regret, anger, self loathing.

"Don't be! I'm so grateful that I got to go on this adventure with you, and see you again."

Violent sobs wracked through her body, threatening to weaken her grip on Cloud, but he used all the remaining strength in that one arm to hold her tightly. He so wished his other hand was free to wipe the tears from her face. Instead it was being used to grip onto the precarious rock edge that would ultimately rescue or doom them. Curse his rotten fate.

"And I am so honored to have joined your cause, Miss Tifa."

Tifa cried harder. The rock ledge he was hanging onto began to crack and the depths below started to roar.

"I'm gonna let go Cloud! So you can live!"

"Don't you dare!" he shouted desperately.

"I want you to live!"

"Don't you understand?! I did this all for you! I joined Avalanche for you! I made a promise to you!"

"You filled it already!"

"No I'm staying with you right to the end!"

Her eyes widened in horror as 'their' slab of rock detached from the crater wall.

_Thump... Thump...Thump..._

She realised it was the sound of her own deafening heartbeat which also felt like slow motion. In peaceful slow motion too she saw Cloud's face freeze in shock, then change to determination, and his now free arm fly out to capture her waist.

Then came the fall.

He felt the stomach-turning, horrible sinking sensation, and the frantic disorientation of tumbling round and around. Jagged chunks of rocks fell with them. Cloud grit his teeth and cradled Tifa against him so that no rock would gash her head. He tried his hardest to control the fall so that he would be underneath her and therefore first to smash the surface. He would be damned before letting her feel the worst impact of the fall. This was the one last thing he could do for the woman he loved, the woman who had given everything up for him.

The tumbling thankfully stopped. She now saw his face staring fiercely up at her, and the impending surface becoming closer. Funny, in one second the ground had changed to a brilliant white hue and it seemed like it was rising up to meet them instead of them dropping towards it. But she was only distracted for one second. His eyes were so blue and pure, she couldn't help staring into them with all her might. This was all that was left between them and she wanted to savor this last precious moment with the man who chose to die with her.

She tried to tell him three sacred words with her eyes.

Blue eyes softened_. _

_He understood_.

He saw her break into a gorgeous smile above him. His heart warmed even though they were still plummeting. In the background he saw the twinkling stars; the very same night sky they bonded over last night, and made a promise under once upon a time. Her head obstructed the ugly looking Meteor from his sight. The bright stars complemented nicely with her radiant face. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Then they were suddenly soaring _up_ towards the brilliant night sky while being soaked in this awesome white energy that was rushing up to meet the stars with them_. _He felt weightless and free, it was an exhilarating sensation. Astounded, he tried to catch her expression to see whether she felt the same thing. There was no face, but he knew she was smiling with him. They no longer had bodies, but he knew they were still holding each other.

* * *

><p>Those destined to live stood on Gaia's surface, near the crater's edge but not too close to fall in. Shock spread across their features as conflicting realization hit them. The overwhelming pure white energy gushed endlessly into the sky. It was never ending white, except for one entwined streak of emerald green Lifestream which shimmered up with it for two puny seconds. On one hand Holy worked and was destroying Meteor right before their eyes. On the other hand...<p>

Red XIII began howling.

"Oh my... Holy worked but Cl-Cloud! Tifa!" Yuffie wailed.

"Noooo Tifa! Why you? Why?"

Barret, the tough gun-slinger fell onto his knees and started sobbing into his real hand.

Cait Sith appeared to become lifeless. What they didn't know was that the real Shinra man operating the doll was weeping profusely at the loss of the two heroes he had vicariously accompanied to the world's end and rescue.

Vincent bowed his head solemnly. Years of experienced personal anguish had equipped him to react calmly to yet another tragedy.

"They have returned home to the Lifestream. We must honor what they fought for and live to improve the Planet we all helped to retain."

He gestured the party towards the Highwind.

"No they will come back! They will come back!"

"We need to move to safer ground Yuffie, and Cid needs to know."

The heart shattered party shuffled solemnly towards the Highwind, but not before glimpsing warm emerald eyes and a smiling face in the heart of the sky, probably waiting to welcome their beloved comrades into eternity.


End file.
